Pelican are back baby. It's been six long years since the bands last full length but now they are back. This latest offering, Nighttime Stories is one of the bands darkest offerings to date. This is a record that is twisted and ethereal. It has all sorts of demented twists and turns, seeming to continually push the band to darker pastures. Nighttime Stories is the sound of a band coming to terms with tragedy and embracing the next phase of their lives. this is a huge step forward for the group and a step that seems to point at much more to come.
The sheer prettiness of the production has me especially enamored here. The slick guitars on a track like Full Moon, Black Water is something you just sink your teeth into. The simple poetry of these songs is transcendent and continually hints at weird next steps for the band to be taking. Nighttime Stories is a masterful offering, from front to back. While some might have judged 2013's Forever Becoming as a misstep, Nighttime Stories sees the band coming back with aplomb. It's hard not to be enamored by the overwhelming possibilities presented here. It's the sound of a band who haven't just found themselves, but who are thriving in this new phase.
This is a glorious sounding record. It routinely pushes the band to the limit and then shows all the ways that they can go even further. It's a record that seems to get stronger with every successive listen. Not only that though but it's an album that speaks to the overarching power that heavy music can have. Sure this is an instrumental band fusing prog ideas with some more conventional ones, but it never feels nerdy. In fact everything about Nighttime Stories just works plain and simple. It has clear forward motion and the overarching momentum of this band is such that Nighttime Stories will refuse to be forgotten.
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